Varsity gets workers’ ultimatum

The Kogi State University (KSU) in Anyigba is facing fire from academic and non-academic staff, who are threatening to go on strike by the end of the month if their demands are not met. MOHAMMED YABAGI (200-Level Mass Communication) reports.

THOUGH the school just resumed for the second semester, the workers seem not bothered as they are raring to go on strike unless their demands are met.

The academic and non-academic staff of Kogi State University (KSU) in Anyigba are threatening to down tools by the end of the month over the state of the institution and non-payment of their allowance.

Last Thursday, academic and other activities were disrupted during a meeting of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), a unified body of all non-academic unions on campus. The congress came 48 hours after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) met with similar agenda. They issued ultimatums, which they said the management and the Governing Council must comply with.

JAC’s congress began with a minute silence in honour of the late former Vice-Chancellor, Prof Francis Idachaba.

The JAC chairman, Comrade Moses Balogun, said members were tired of the prevailing workers’ condition, adding that the congress was organised to give the management for dialogue. Failure to reach out to the workers before September 30, Balogun said, would lead to an indefinite strike.

He said: “Members regret the current dilapidating situation that the institution is grappling with and we want the state government to intervene in the matter. The situation we are facing in this institution is nothing to write home about. We want the public to know that the management and Governing Council of the Kogi State University are killing the institution. Government must intervene in this matter before it is too late.

“We are saddened to inform the public that just about six years ago, KSU was the best state-owned university in the country. It was the sixth best university among all universities, but in the last National Universities Commission (NUC) rating, the institution is ranked 111th of the 112 universities in the country.”

Balogun, who noted that other state-owned schools, such as Nasarawa State University, Katsina State University and Kaduna State University, used to look up to the institution, wondered when things went wrong.

He urged management to comply with the September 30 ultimatum for addressing workers’ grievances, failing by the non-academic workers, failure which would result in what he described as “total strike without looking back.”

Balogun added: “In as much as we feel the pains of parents and students, the action is necessary because if we don’t take the action now, certificates of our graduates will not worth the value of common tissue paper.”

The university’s ASUU chapter gave management up till September 29 to resolve what it described as “unacceptable situation the institution is facing”.

Its chairman, Comrade Sylvester Okuteno, said members were worried about things in the university.

Okuteno said: “The situation we are facing in this school is one that we never thought we would ever experience. It is unbearable. The university is dying, there’s need for urgent intervention. We cannot fold our arms and watch the conditions go worse.”

Balogun said the JAC’s demands included non-payment of hazard allowance and arrears, responsibility allowance, excess tax on staff salaries, non-implementation of minimum wage and pension, non-implementation of excess workload allowance and staff/students ration.

After the congress, JAC’s leaders led members on peaceful protests on major roads in Anyigba, chanting anti-management songs. They carried placards, some with unprintable expressions.

Some of the protesters demanded the Vice Chancellor’s removal for “killing the university”, which they described as the pride of the Igala people.

The protesters marched to the palace of the Ogohi of Anyigba, Alhaji Aliyu Okolo, to inform him of the “inhuman condition” in the institution.

The workers said the Governing Council was more interested in promoting its selfish interest rather than the welfare of the staff.

Balogun, who spoke on the protesters’ behalf, said: “Staff members are leaving the university in droves because their welfare is not being taken care of. When they leave and go elsewhere, they make their new workplace better than they met it through the experiences they garnered in KSU. That is one of the reasons why the standard of the university is on decline. We are saying enough is enough.”

He presented the union’s demands and the alleged inadequacies of the management to the monarch for presentation to Governor Idris Wada.

The traditional ruler pleaded with the workers not to do anything that would jeopardise the institution’s progress. He called for caution in the pursuit of their demands.

The monarch praised the workers for their civility, promising that their letter would be forwarded to the governor.

A member of the management, who pleaded anonymity, dismissed the workers’ demand as frivolous and mischievous. He said there were other serious issues the council and management are concerned about rather than the mischief of few individuals who think they can hold the institution to ransom.

“They don’t have any problem with the school. They only have problem with the government, which they accused of overtaxing them. It is an issue on which management has written to government and government, in turn, has instructed the state internal revenue service to look into it. It is being looked into as I speak to you.”

The source said the vice-chancellor would communicate the management’s position to the workers on Tuesday.

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the Students’ Union Government (SUG), led by John Idachaba, has been meeting with the parties to ensure the issues are resolved amicably without the campus being closed down.